Gate latch



W. L. WEINTZ.l

Gm mc.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25,192.1-

Patented Sept. 19, 1922.

Matite@ trates retratar-ff WILLIAM I..

wnrnfrz, or OTTAWA, rnnrnors, Assrenonmo :,r. -nron'rnn conroRA- TION, F OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

GATE LATCH.

Application mea my 25,1921. "serial No. 487,261.

T 0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLrAM' L. TVEINTZ,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Ottawa, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Grate lLatches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates4 especially designed forstock'pen gates.

Among the objects of myinvention is to improve the construction yof gate latchesl of the kind mentioned in the several particulars as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In'the accompanying drawings-.-

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of vay stock pen gate, equipped with a latch mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontalsectional view taken 2.0 on line 2r-2 of Fig. 1, the gate being shown 'I bolt holes-15, 1.9 Fig. 3 `is an enlarged front elevational closed in full lines and openin dotted lines;

view of the latch mechanism Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken through the lower part of the latchmechanism; and

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a 3.0 stock pen gate located between the vertical front and rear gate posts 2 and 3,'respectively of the pen structure. The gate 1 is attathed'to the rear post 8 by clamps 4, ,andv

these are so made that the gate may be swung either into or out of the pen pastthe front post 2. n Applied to the ,front upright rail or tube 5 of the gate are two clamps orsupporting therefor, while the lower latch member 11.

is pivoted to the clamp 7 by a boss 12 provided on said clamp. The bolt 8 has a hook shaped upper end'13 slidably retained in a vertically arranged'aperture 14 in thev upper clamp 6 and adapted to enter a bolt4 hole 15 the handle 9.

to gate latches post 2. These latch in the upper latch member'10adjacentfits. rear end. Below thel latch :rneinbi-n4 10 is a.

' tube 16 through whichl the boltS extends andv forming a, -casing for acoiled spring 17. This bears downward A-on ttheupper endof ,The bolt 8 has its-lower:` end offset. and

substantially'straight, and this end is in an- Fig. 4. The lower latch member 11`is proA-v y aperture in'thelower clamp 7, asshown inl vided adjacent its inner end with` a bolt hole 19'to` receive the lowerend of said bolt.

The apertures in the clamps `6, 7 register,` L with the bolt' holes in thenlatch members 1.0,

11 when the gate isili-closed position.

The latch members 10, 11 are made substantially alike and, in addition to .the bolt' f holes 15 and 19, respectively, each member,v has two shallow` recesses lor sockets20, l21 (Fig. 5')vv arranged on oppositesides'of the v as shown inV Fig. l5. vThe latch mechanism operates as posts '2 'and 3, as shown 1in Fig. 1,` and the latch memberslO, .11 straddlethe front post 2.' Said latch members are :held` in i that position yby the hook end 13 ofthe bolt being fences! When the gate 1 is closed, it is between the in the bolt `hole 15 of the upper latch membi .andthe lowerend 18 kof the bolt being in the bolt hole 19in the lower latch'mem#y ber, tliespring 17 holdingthe parts inter-,f

locked so that the gate is'locked closed and y.

the latch membersheld astraddlethe `post 2.

To unlock and open ,thel gate, the operator .i

grasps'the handle 9 andf'lifts up on itto raise'v the bolt I8, thereby' 'lifting its endsl out of engagement withthelatchmembers 10 and 11. This unlocks the gate and the latte'r'may be swung open, either intoor out ofv the pen as indicated'by dotted lines in Fig.,2. The

latch members l0/and 11 straddling or having their side portions on opposite-,sides of the post 2 when the gate 1 is closed,l will contact with said postonswinging the gate open be turned about' their ,pivots as they leave the post into positions with, ,their forked "ends facing toward .the post, as l showninvFig. 2. .The-latch members will be swung far `enough* while engagedivith the post to bring one'pf the sets' of shallow recesses 20 or 21, dependingon which the gate is swung, yinto register: withfihe, lockingl ends'of the bolt 8,' and, by meansl of the 'spring -17, such ends v.will engagement with suchre'cesses and hold the y Snap into latch members against accidental movement out of the position .into which they have been turned. This prevents the latch members from being swung out of such positions should a workman brush against them in passing into and out of the pen while the `ate is open, or should an animal in being driven into or out of the pen strike against them.

To close and lock the gate, the gate is swung into closed position and, the post 2 being in the path of movement of the latch members and ll, the same will come into contact with the post 2 before the gate is fully closed and, by impact with the post, be turned back into positions straddling said post as soon as the gate reaches closed position. The engagement between the ends of the bolt 8 and the shallow recesses or 2l is merely suiicient to hold the latch members against accidental movement, but when the latch members are swung into locking position by contact with the gate post 2, the bolt 8 will be Inot unlock raised out of the shallowfrecesses by the impact and snap into the bolt holes l5, i9 as soon as the gate reaches fully closed position. By this Construction, the gate is automatically locked when swung' into closed position without requiring the attendant to manipulate't-he latch device for that purose. p The bolt 8 is movable endwise and relatively to the latch members. This enables the latclimembers to be retained in fixed planes and need not be mounted to be raised and lowered to effect locking andunlocking of the gate. Thus an animal in the pen canthe gate by pushing upward on the latch members. Thefbolt must be raised to unlock thel gate and thus is operated in somewhat the same way as the ordinary gate latch. The bolt 8 is not provided with any projecting parts which canbe engaged by the head or body of an animal and permit the animal to unlock the latch, and thus is cattl-e-proof. The bolt 8 extends between the latch members `and is movable into and outyof locking engagement with both, thus requiring but one bolt for both latch membersand and effective lock to be had. The bolt engaging the shallow recesses holds the latch members, when the gate is open, in positions to properly engage the gate post on swinging the gate closed from either side of the post. The shallow recesses provide a positive lock for this purpose and always holdthe latch members in proper positions when the gate is open. p

While I have shown and described herein in detail a latch mechanism embodying the features of my invention,it is to be understood that l do not wish to be limited to the details of construction and arrangement of enabling a positive parts as shown, for such parts maybe variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination with a gate post and a hinged gate, of a latch mechanism, comprising two pivoted latch members spacedv apart and carried by said gate, said latch members having' forked outer ends to straddle said post when the gate is closed and being turned by said post into and out of straddling engagement therewith on swinging said gate into and out of closed position, each latch member having a bolt hole on the side of its pivot opposite its forked outer end, and a single spring pressed latch bolt slidably carried by said gate in the plane thereof and lying between the gate and post when the gate is closed, said bolt extending between said latch members and having its ends movable into and out of locking engagement with the bolt holes therein, said bolt snapping into said bolt holes when the gate reaches closed position.

2. The combination with a gate post and a hinged gate adapted to be swung into open position to either side ofk .said post, of a latch mechanism, comprising two pivoted latch members spaced apart and carried by said gate, said latch members having forked outer ends to straddle said post when the gate is closed and being turned simultaneously by said post into and out of straddling engagement therewith on swinging said gate into andl out of closed position, each latch member having a bolt hole adjacent its inner end and two shallow reces'- ses, one on each side of said bolt hole, and a. spring pressed bolt carried by said gate between said latchmembers, said bolt being movable endwise into and outof locking engagement with the bolt holes of said latchr members, said bolt engaging said shallow recesses when the gate is open for releasably holding said latch members in positions to straddle said post on swinging the gate closed, said bolt automatically snapping into said bolt holes when the gate reaches closed position. y .i i

8. The combination with a gate post and a hinged gate, of a latch mechanism, comprising two clamps secured to said gate in spaced relation, latch members, one pivoted to each clamp and having forked outer ends to straddle said post when the gate is closed,

said latch members being turned by said post into and out of straddling engagement therewith on swinging said gate into and out of closed position. said latch members having bolt holes and shallow recesses, and a spring pressed bolt extending members and slidably mounted in said clamps, said bolt having one vof its ends hook shaped and theopposite end straight between said latch llO leo

to engage in the bolt holes and recesses, respectively, of said latch members.

4l. The combination with a gate post and a hinged gate, of a latch mechanism, comprising a pivoted latch member carried by said gate and having its outer end forked to straddle said post when the gate is closed and provided adjacent its inner end with a bolt hole and a shallow recess on one side thereof, said latch member being turned by said post into and out of straddling engagement therewith on swinging said gate into and out of closed position, and a spring pressed bolt carried by said gate and movable into and out of locking engagement with said bolt hole, said bolt, when the gate is open, engaging in said recess to releasably hold said latch member in position to straddle said post on swinging said gate closed, said bolt snapping into said bolt hole as soon as the gate reaches closed position for locking said latch member astraddle said ost. p 5. rlhe combination with a gate post and a hinged gate adapted to be swung into open position to either side of said post, of a latch mechanism, comprising a pivoted latch lmember carried by said gate and having its outer end forked to straddlesaid post when the gate is closed and provided adjacent its in- Aner end with a bolt hole and two shallow recesses, one on each side of said bolt hole, said latch member being turned by said post into and out of straddling engagement therewith on swinging said gate into and out of closed position, and a spring pressed bolt carried by said gate and movablel into and out of locking engagement with said bolt hole, said bolt, when the gate is open, engaging in one of said recesses to releasably hold said latch member in position to straddle said post on swinging said gate closed, said bolt snapping into said bolt hole as soon as the gate reaches closed position for locking said latch member astraddle said post.

6. The combination with a gate post and a hinged gate, of a latch mechanism, comprising two clamps secured to said gate in spaced relation, two latch members, one pivoted on each clamp and having forked outer ends to straddle said post when the gate is closed and being turned bysaid post into and out of straddling engagement therewith on swinging said gate into and out of closed position, each hole on the side of its pivot opposite its forked outer end, said clamps having apertures registering with said bolt holes when the gate is closed, and a single spring pressed latch bolt slidably carried by said clamps in the plane of said gate and lyingr between the same and said post when the gate is closed, said bolt extending between said latch latch member having a bolt;

members and having its ends movable into and out of said bolt holes through the apertures in said clamps, said latch members having shallow recesses on opposite sides of said bolt holes bolt when the gate is open for holding lsaid latch members in positions to straddle said post on swinging the gate closed.

7 The combination with a gate post and a hinged gate, of a latch mechanism, comprising a supporting member carried by said gate, a latch member pivoted to said sup porting member and having a forked outer end to straddle said post when the gate is closed, said latch member being turned by said post into and out of straddling engage` ment therewith on swinging said gate into and out of closed position, said latch meinber having a bolt hole and a shallow recess on one side thereof, said supporting member having an aperture registering with said bolt` hole when the gate is closedv and registering with .said recess when the gate is open, and a spring pressed bolt on said gate and having to receive the ends of said its end slidably mounted in said aperture ,y

and adapted to snap into locking engagement with said bolt hole as soon as the gate reaches closed position, said-bolt having its end engaging in said recess when the gate is open to releasably hold said latch member in i l i position to straddle said post lon swinging said gate closed, theI impact of the latch member against said post in closing the gate being suflicient to moveI said bolt out of said` recess and permit the latch member to be swung into locking position.

8. The combination with agate post and a hinged prising two clamps secured to said gate in spaced relation, pivoted on each clamp and having `forked outer ends to straddle said post when the gate is closed and being turned by said post into and out of straddling engagement therewith on swinging said gate into and out of closed position, said clamps having apertures registering with said bolt holes when the gate is closed, and a single spring pressed bolt in the planev of said gate andslidably supported by said clamps,

ing its ends movable` into and out of said bolt holes through said apertures, said bolt at one end extending through the pivotal connection between the adjacent clamp and latch member, said end of the bolt being hook shaped andthe'opposite end of the bolt being straight to snap into said bolt holes from the same side of thesame.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I aflix my signature this21st day of July, A. D. 1921. v

WLLIAM L. WEINTZ.

gate, of a latch'mechanism, comt'wso latch members, one

said bolt eXtendi ing between said Alatch members andhav-j 

